What Lurks in Darkness
by Left 4 Zed
Summary: Tortured by the events of the past few weeks, Sarah, along with her new friends, struggle to survie. But can she live with the sorrows of the past? In the distance, a lone hunter watches...
1. Chapter 1: Dark Dreams

**Hey everybody! (: This is it: my very first fanfiction story. I hope I'm not a complete failure…but don't be afraid to hurt my feelings if I am! Send tons of reviews (at least a couple?...pleeeeaaase?) and be honest. Even if it does hurt…**

**Oh, and I don't own the rights to Left 4 Dead. So PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

**What Lurks in Darkness**

**Chapter 1**

**Dark Dreams**

_There it was again…_ The hooded figure thought to itself.

It had been following the scent of a group of survivors for two days now (or rather two nights. It preferred to travel at night, when its eyes were free to search without fear of the light). It knew it was getting close. The scent of their flesh was almost intoxicating…

But then that small, vague scent keeps merging with the first, somewhat annoying the creature. It was frustrating not knowing what that smell was. It recognized the other scents: human flesh, sweat, fear, anger…it knew all these odors the humans made. But this scent was different…

And the more the creature thought about it, the more it became agitated.

_What WAS it?_

**Three miles east of the hooded figure, in a safe house**

"Alex!" The young woman shouted through the darkness, waking up from her nightmare.

"No," she thought to herself. "Not a nightmare. A memory…"

"Huh-wha-whazzu…?" one of the men said, waking up from the woman's shout.

Sighing, the woman whispers so as not to wake the other man, "Sorry, Phil. I had a bad dream."

Grunting, Phil gets back to a more comfortable position and quickly goes back to sleep.

The woman reclines back into her sleeping bag. She rubs her eyes sleepily, only mildly surprised to find the tears on her face…

**Okay, people. Is that a decent start? I know it's horribly short, but I also have chapter two done, so I can publish both chapters. Just think of this as a prologue.**

**Anywho, please send reviews, even if it makes me want to go cry in a corner, as long as you give some advice on how to improve. Bye (:**


	2. Chapter 2:Broken Heart,Heartless Monster

**Hey again! (assuming anyone is actually reading this)…I told you I would have this one out, too. Anywho, I don't own Left 4 Dead, one or two, and I don't own any of the games' characters. Now that that's out of the way, here's chapter two (:**

**Chapter 2**

**A Broken Heart, and a Heartless Monster**

Hiding from the sun's blinding light in an abandoned factory, the hunter growled angrily, smelling that the humans were starting to get further away. Cursing the sun, he impatiently awaited for nightfall so he could catch up to the group. He could travel much faster than them, but if they traveled too far, it might take all night to reach them. And that's assuming nothing else slaughtered his prey…

For that was all the once-human creature thought of them: nothing more than prey for him to pick off, one at a time. The hunter grinned evilly to himself. He was so hungry. He couldn't wait to shred them to pieces.

"Alright everybody, let's head out," Phil said to the rest of the group. Phil was the oldest of the group, probably in his mid-forties. He was 5'7", with fairly short brown hair and brown eyes. He looked like he used to be extremely fit, but over the years lost some of those hulking biceps. He still had plenty of muscle, however, and was definitely the strongest of the three.

"Right," said the other man in the group, heading out the door of the diner they had slept in for the night. His name was Steve. He was taller than Phil, about 6 feet tall, but he was thinner than Phil, and a good deal less muscular. Steve had blonde hair and blue eyes and was 26.

"Okay…" was all the woman of the group said. She was the shortest at 5'4" and had long, black hair that she kept in a ponytail to avoid it getting into her eyes, and had brilliant blue eyes. She was also extremely beautiful, if you could ignore the dirt and blood that caked her clothes and skin. She was 21 years old.

"You okay, Sarah?" Phil asked, seeing her clearly upset and remembering her nightmare from last night.

"Yeah," she said. Sarah smiled at him, but it was only a half-hearted one, and Phil knew it. "I'm fine, Phil."

Phil wasn't buying it, but decided not to pry. "Okay."

They all headed off, Sarah frowning, trying to not think about him. She couldn't think about him while on the run; she could very well die if she loses focus for even a second. She can only think about him in a safe house, where she can muffle her sobs in her sleeping bag. Sighing, she prepared for another long day…

**Evening, at the abandoned factory**

_Can't wait any longer!_

The hunter burst out the factory, despite the sun still setting in the sky. He made sure to keep his eyes downcast away from the sun. He didn't need to look up anyways; his strong sense of smell led him to his prey. He didn't really need to fear any attack by his brothers and sisters, as the stupid ones would stay away from him (the little instinct they had told them to not fight the more powerful of their kind), and the smarter ones (special infected) typically only fought him if HE attacked THEM. He was notorious for killing anything that got in his way when he was ticked off, which was pretty common. He didn't need to worry about humans because he would smell them; the only human scents were the ones he has been following. So, despite having one of his senses hampered, he was still confident he would be fine.

He began following their scents again, in something of a good mood due to the fact that he hadn't smelled that mysterious odor for quite some time.

Steve thought that, overall, it had been a decent day. They didn't run into any large hordes of infected, and they only came across one smoker, and a boomer they managed to gun down before it vomited on any of them, blowing up a safe distance from them and attracting the few remaining infected in the area to the pile of boomer guts instead of them. They got into the next safe room just before sundown.

But he couldn't enjoy how easy it had been today. Steve looked over at Sarah, who was looking down at the locket she wore around her neck. Steve sighed. He knew she must feel terrible. What happened to Alex…even he didn't like to think about it. He and Phil only knew the two briefly before-before. Those two were so kind, so friendly, and even happy. Sarah was kept the group light-hearted. Alex was pretty shy to him and Phil, but they could tell he was a good kid. Now…now Sarah could barely keep herself going. He and Phil both saw how tired she looked…

** Aaannnddd…DONE! I'm glad this chapter was longer, but it still probably wasn't long enough to really be called a chapter…oh well. Anywho, send reviews, give advice, and let me know if you liked it or hated it. I promise some action in the upcoming chapter or two. Wait just a little longer! Bye for now! (:**


	3. Chapter 3: Tears at Night

**Hey everyone who's reading this! (: I'm glad to see some people are actually reading this. Thank you, Brad The Hunter, for pointing out how obvious my story was without being mean about it. I've decided to change the story from what I had planned, and I think it actually works out better, but the new surprise still won't be for a while. Till then, I hope everyone enjoys the following backstory. (:**

**Chapter 3**

**Tears at Night**

**Sarah's POV**

_It was late. We had been struggling to find a safe house all day. The sun had set, and now we were depending on their flashlight to see anything._

_We were running. Me, Phil, Steve…and Alex. We had run out of ammo fighting off the last horde, but now an even bigger horde was behind us. I was so afraid…_

_I didn't even notice Alex wasn't running next to me anymore until I heard a pained shout down the alley behind me. I turned. Alex was a good ways down the alley, pinned under a hunter. The horde was gaining fast._

_I started heading back towards Alex, but a strong hand held me back. It was Phil. "We have to keep going, Sarah!"_

_I struggled to get loose so I could help Alex, but I'm not as strong as Phil. "Let me go!" I shrieked. "Alex is in trouble!"_

_I know he was protecting me, that if I had gone back I would have died as well, but at the time I could only think of saving Alex. But then I heard a voice. It was Alex._

_Alex was holding back the hunter, but it was only a matter of time before the hunter would get out of Alex's grip. Alex looked straight at me. "Go." Alex whispered, yet somehow I could hear it from where I was, even over the sound of the horde that was almost right on top of him._

_Before I could think my legs had started carrying me away. I was running, but I had no idea where I was going. I followed the two men ahead of me, the two men I had begun to think of as family. Apparently they knew where they were going, because after a couple of minutes we reached a safe house. That's when my mind finally caught up to my body…_

I sat up, my heart racing from my nightmare. No. Not a nightmare. A memory…

Tears started rolling down my face. It was dark out, and Steve and Phil were still sleeping. I quietly sobbed into my sleeping bag, hoping the others don't wake up and see her like this.

Ever since that incident, I haven't been the same. For that matter, I haven't been the same since the infection began. I had just been better at hiding my sadness then.

It had started about a month ago. I had just gotten back from my morning classes at college. I still lived with mom and dad, since college was a short drive from my house and I couldn't afford a place to rent.

"I'm home!" I shouted into the house as I always did when I came in. I headed into the living room, where I expected to see my parents in there, remembering my dad had called off sick today, which was a lie. My mom was the one not feeling well, and my dad called off so he could look after her.

I walked in just as I saw my mom take a big bite out of my dad's neck. I froze, seeing what had just happened but not really comprehending it. Then she looked up at me, her eyes a milky white, and ran at me. It was those eyes that got my legs moving. I ran out the door and locked it with my key just before she reached it.

After that I got in my car and drove, not really sure where I was going but needing to get away from there. I fought back bile as I tried to figure out what to do. My mind flashed to Alex, my boyfriend, and my brother Tyler, who should still have been at the high school at this hour.

I decided I was going to drive to the school, pick up Tyler, and go to Alex's apartment. I got to the school, but it looked like a war zone there. The windows and doors were broken and blood was all over the schoolyard. I searched inside the school but I couldn't find Tyler, or anyone for that matter.

Fighting back tears, I drove up to Alex's apartment. I saw people running in panic on the streets, some being chased by- whatever those things were. I couldn't exactly call them people anymore, not after what I had seen them do…

I ran up to the third floor, third room on the left (I used that coincidence to memorize which door was his) and knocked. At first, I didn't hear anything, but then I heard a slight shuffle.

I knocked again, saying, "Alex? It's Sarah. Let me in!" Again, there was no noise, but after a few seconds I heard footsteps walk up to the door. I heard the three locks he had for his door (he was always a little paranoid) and opened the door a crack

"Sarah?" the man I love whispered quietly. Upon seeing me he threw open the door and hugged me, kissing me gently before looking around the hall. "It's not safe out here," he said, leading me inside. Alex locked all three locks, which honestly made me feel a lot safer at this point.

We sat in his apartment for a while and talked. Apparently, the crazed people outside were like that because of the Green Flu. I didn't really keep up with current events, but Alex, the quiet, paranoid man I thought might be "the one" had listened to all the reports about it. He seemed like he was an expert on the subject.

Remembering the events from that day only make me cry more. Choking back my sobs, I listened to the room. I could hear Phil's loud snoring, and after concentrating I heard Steve's quiet breathing. It took me a moment to realize there was a THIRD breathing, coming from OUTSIDE THE SAFE ROOM DOOR!

I gasped, sitting up quickly. I heard the sound of sneakers sliding on the gravel outside, and I saw a shadow move away from the bars of the safe room door. Not thinking how dangerous it might be, I quickly grabbed a pistol from the table of weapons in the room and ran to the door, looking out between the bars built into the window. It was dark, and I couldn't be sure there was nothing out there, but I didn't see anything, so I walked away from the window. Exhaustion kicking in, I went to the other side of the room and laid back down into my sleeping bag, falling asleep almost immediately.

**Hopefully now readers know a little more about Sarah. This chapter just flew by, and I feel good about the length. I tried to make this backstory as exciting as I could. Hope Everyone liked it (:**

**Oh, and I didn't create the infection, safe rooms, etc. I did create Sarah, Alex, Phil, Steve, and anyone else who might be mentioned who isn't in the Left 4 Dead games. (I don't know if I'm supposed to have disclaimers for this…) Bye for now (:**


	4. Chapter 4: Mixed Feelings

**Hey party people! (: Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. ): I've been kind of busy. Classes start really soon and all my friends keep wanting to hang out before summer ends. Sigh…makes me wonder how bad I'll be at updating when I actually have classes…anyway, enjoys the next chapter! (:**

**I don't own Left 4 Dead, but seriously, how COOL would that be if I did?**

**Chapter 4**

**Mixed Feelings**

**Hunter's POV**

I crept along carefully, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, following them close enough for me to easily track them, yet far enough away so they would not detect me.

_Today is the day,_ I thought to myself, grinning wolfishly. Today would be the day I would finally kill the ones I have been tracking for days.

I had caught up to them last night, but they had already made it to one of those buildings with the red, steel doors. I knew from past experience that very few things could get into those things when it was sealed off. Unless a random Tank decided to come by, I had no choice but to wait until morning for them to leave.

So I waited. And waited. AND WAITED. Get more and more irritated by the minute, I began pacing around outside. I could just sleep: I don't need to sleep as much as the humans, but it necessary to occasionally catch some sleep. But I wasn't tired, and besides, if I did sleep, they might wake up before me and leave. And I was NOT tracking them down again.

So I just paced around on all fours, waiting for the sun to rise, knowing them would leave when it was up. Humans didn't seem to be bothered by the bright light, and they seemed to notice some of my brothers and sisters (myself included) were blinded in bright lights. If not for my hooded clothing, which had an extra-large hood that could cover most of my face, I would not be able to see at all in the daytime.

That thought got me thinking of another thought. Most of the other hooded brothers I met didn't even have eyes. From the claw marks on their faces, I assumed their eyes were ripped out, likely self-inflicted. Although not as irritating now, I remember how much pain my eyes had caused me when I was newly infected. I myself had come close to clawing them out, but somehow I managed through the pain and kept them. Although as much a hindrance as an asset, something about having my eyes seemed important to me.

Huffing to myself, I kept thinking about something else, then something else, then something else. It sometimes surprised me how much I actually THOUGHT. The common brothers and sisters didn't really think of anything. My special brothers and sisters thought, but they seemed to only think in the present, at what is going on at the moment, and even then only enough to survive. I, on the other hand, can truly THINK, even when it's not necessary for me to. I can think about the past (only as far back as when I was first infected), as well as the future (or lack of one if I'm not careful). I often wondered why I was so different from the others of my kind.

As I was pondering this, I heard a noise coming from the house the humans were in. I hadn't heard anything other than breathing for some time, so I had assumed they were sleeping. Listening intently, I heard an extremely quiet noise that seemed vaguely familiar.

Surprised, I realized it sounded very much like the long-clawed sisters, the ones that sliced anything and everything to pieces if they were disturbed. Was one of them in there?

No. There was no way for one of them to get in there. Besides, the sound coming from there was much too quiet for one of the dangerous sisters; they wailed as loudly as they possibly could.

Then I smelled it again; that same scent that ticked me off earlier. Why DID it upset me so much, anyway? Curious about the sound and odor coming from the building, I slowly crept up to the tiny barred window the door had and peeked in.

I saw two bodies in the far corner, motionless except for the rising and falling of their chests. I could smell that they were the men in the group. I then spotted the female of the group, a little further off from the others. She was lying on the floor, yet I could tell she was awake. I could see water falling from her eyes onto the floor, and she seemed to staring very intently at one spot in the wall. Confused, I glanced back and forth, from the spot on the wall to her face. Clearly it wasn't the wall that had her making those noises. Was she…thinking about something? Something that made her make those noises?

I realized she was upset. Very upset. Was that why there was that scent radiating from her? Yes…she made that scent when she was upset. That made sense. I had smelled other humans that were upset, and I felt stupid when I realized how similar she smelled like those humans. Except…it still seemed slightly different than the others. There was something about it that still annoyed me, which only made me more confused. That sad smell would normally excite me, but for some reason it only annoyed me more now that I knew what it was.

Turning my attention back to the female, I noticed she had stopped sobbing. She seemed to be settling down again. Then she tensed, and looked straight up at where my face was!

Startled, I have leaped back. Deciding she didn't need to be aware of my presence, I quickly leaped out of sight into the shadows…

XXX

Now I'm following them, waiting for the right moment to strike. I see the group of humans. The males are slightly ahead of the female, likely trying to protect the female from any enemies that may come from the front. I grinned evilly. They should be more worried about the enemies that may come from behind…

I decided the female would be the best target. Clearly weaker than the others, she would be an easier kill. Not only that, but she would be easier to get to if something in front of them distracted them. I could jump right in, grab her, and carry her off to her demise in some dark alley before the males would even notice she was gone.

It filled me with pride to think of such a clever plan. The other hooded ones may think to wait until a good opportunity, but I was the only one that seemed to think about what would happen AFTER I pounce on my prey. I have seen many of my less clever brothers pounce on their target, only to get killed by one of the other humans a few moments later. When all was said and done, it was the brother that was dead, their prey more often than not uninjured from the attack.

I was not so foolish. I would wait for an opportunity, pounce on my target, momentarily stunning them, then leap off with them to a rooftop or somewhere the other humans would not see us. That left me with only a single dazed human to fight off. An easy kill, with little risk of anything bad happening. By the time the others found my prey, there would be little left to identify them by…

I had been watching them for hours, waiting for a good distraction. I observed that the oldest one seemed to be the alpha of the pack. He seemed to lead them around the city, and the others followed respectfully. The younger male seemed talkative, always starting up conversations with the others. The female seemed the quietest. She seemed distracted, and I wondered if she was still thinking about the thing that upset her so much last night. She still smelled sad…

Silently cursing myself for even thinking about that, I continued stalking the group. Why should I be concerned with her emotions? I was about to kill her! There's no need to think about it…

_Why am I still thinking about it?_

**Steve's POV**

I looked over at Sarah again, blushing a little when she looked up at me looking at her. God, she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Even as dirty and beat up as she was, Sarah practically radiated beauty.

I sighed. I felt bad thinking about Sarah that way. After all, she had lost her boyfriend, what, a couple weeks ago? And the way she lost him…

Shivering, even though it was a warm autumn day, I thought back to that night. Phil and I had met the couple just a few days before, shortly after the infection hit the city. They were so nice to us. Sarah was always smiling then, even with the world going to hell around us. That Alex…well, he was pretty wary of us for a while, but when he had been around us for a while, he had softened up to me and Phil pretty well. Sarah told us Alex was pretty paranoid about-well, everything.

After that, however, he proved to be really nice. I liked the guy, even if I was a little jealous that he was the one Sarah cared about. He was always worrying about Sarah: making sure she wasn't hurt, the first to her side when she did get hurt, trying to keep her cheerful and happy: he never stopped fussing over her, and something about how much he cared for her made me like him. He was a good guy. It was a shame what happened to him…

**Phil's POV**

I quickly checked the map to confirm which direction I thought we should take.

"This way," I told the two. They followed without a second thought. It sometimes surprises me how much they listen to me. I was a welder before this whole mess started. I was one of the oldest welders on dayshift, and I was definitely the best. They were always getting me to teach the new blood how to do everything, so I was used to bossing people around.

But I hadn't considered that these two would listen to me in this hellhole. Yeah, I'm the oldest, but this isn't exactly my element. Sure, I was in lots of fights when I was younger, and even some fights when I wasn't so young, but this knocks everything I've ever done right out of the park.

I frowned, thinking about the two. They were too young to have to go through something as horrible as this. Especially Sarah…

She reminded me of my own daughter: spunky, energetic, brave, and just a little naïve. But now…the things Sarah has witnessed…they've changed her. She's not the optimistic young woman they first met…

**Sarah's POV**

I haven't spoken much on the trip. I know it's only making them worry about me more, but I just can't seem to cheer up enough to chat. I've been thinking of everything. The infection, mom and dad, Tyler, Alex…

Fighting back tears for about the hundredth time today, I think about Alex. In all honesty, he was the only thing that had kept me from depression when the infection hit. I was so upset about what had happened to everyone. Mom, dad, my friends…Tyler…

Everyone I have ever known. Dead. All dead. But Alex was with me, and he made me feel…safe. He was a part of my past life that hadn't disappeared, and he gave me hope: Hope that, one day, things could be normal again.

But he died, too…nothing's left…why am I even trying? I guess I'm still trying to survive for the other two now. As sad as I make them, I know they would be even more upset if I died, too. They would also be a weaker force. I don't think they could survive without my extra help. We can barely keep going without Alex…

**Well, that's all for this chapter. Sorry all you guys got was more backstory, but I thought you guys needed to get more of a feel for each of the characters. I promise more action next chapter, and maybe even a CHARACTER DEATH!**

…**but probably not. Hehe (: You never know, though, am I right?**

**Hope people don't completely hate this! Sorry again for taking so long to update! Bye for now! (:**


	5. Chapter 5: Epic Failures

**Hey world and all who inhabit it (human or otherwise)! I'm so excited! I finally got a second person to review me! YAY! He also made me realize that, even though my story is supposed to be kind of dramatic, some comedic relief never hurt, either. I'm gonna add some funny scenes to this chapter, and you'll be happy to know, Yukimare, that I plan on adding your idea if possible.**

**Anywho, I don't own L4D 1 or 2; If I did, the hunters would attack in packs and everyone would die (:**

**Chapter 5**

**Epic Failures**

**Hunter's POV**

Man, today was just NOT my day. Every time I would go after those humans, something always got in the way.

IT WAS RIDICULOUS!

The first hint that I shouldn't have gotten up today occurred shortly after I began stalking the group. I still had my eyes set on the girl, getting more and more impatient with each passing minute.

Finally, I heard several shouts coming from all directions, and I knew a horde of the stupid ones was about to attack the group. That was just what I was hoping for…I was hiding in a dark alley, ready to jump out right when they were most vulnerable. I had just peered around the alley to catch a glimpse of the group, but instead of seeing the humans, there was a massive, lumpy, bulging pile of flesh in my field of vision…

I had just enough time to think, _Oh, crap_, when a single gunshot rang through the street, and the fat brother in front of me exploded, splashing its guts all over my face.

Not only did that blind me, but of course every stupid brother and sister that was heading towards the humans and were now coming after me. I had to take out every single one of them before I even had a chance to remove the fat one's blood. That in itself is hard to do when you can't see and you have claws for fingers.

_Damn it…_

Several minutes later, I was bound and determined to take out the human girl. I caught back up to them just in time to see that they were being attacked by yet another horde of the stupid ones. Thinking luck was now on my side, I quickly spotted the girl, positioned myself, and leaped out at her. Trying to not shriek as I flew through the air (that would only draw attention to me), I was just feet from the woman's back when I was caught in midair…

…Apparently a long-tongued brother had decided to attack the girl at the same time. Somehow, I had leaped at the same exact time he had shot his tongue at the woman, and I had leaped…straight into the path of the tongue…

_DAMN IT…_

After dragging me back to his location, on a rooftop almost a block away, I finally broke free of the brother's tongue. Now angry at the long-tongue's stupidity, I quickly ripped him to shreds, but by then the humans were once again out of sight, my opportunity gone…

After following their scents and the trail of corpses they left behind I caught up to them fairly quickly. Now it was just a matter of time before they were left vulnerable for my attack…

**Phil's POV**

I was really starting to get annoyed by the hordes of infected that kept coming today. We have already run into two fairly large hordes. Fortunately Steve had spotted that boomer when the first horde attacked us. He blew up the Boomer in one shot, and the horde quickly turned their attention to it instead of us.

But there was no boomer for the second horde that hit us. We all used up a good deal of ammo, and we were starting to get pretty beat up. I spotted a grocery store and decided we should investigate it. Other survivors may have left some ammo or first-aid kits in there, two things we were severely lacking in at that point. If nothing else, there should at least be some non-perishable food in there we could pick up.

The others agreed, and we went in and searched. Sarah found some bandages, and Steve found some shotgun shells, but it otherwise looked empty. There wasn't even any salvageable food in there. Apparently we weren't the first ones in there…

We were exiting the building when I spotted something near the entrance. Leaning over, my body literally froze when I saw what it was.

"Holy shit…" I whispered, too shocked to even shout at my discovery.

Steve, a confused expression on his face, came over to me. "What are you looking…" he stopped in mid-sentence when he saw what I was holding. "Holy shit…" he said in as equally as shocked I voice I had only a moment ago.

I then heard the tell-tale shrieks of a horde approaching, and Sarah ran back in. "A horde's coming. What are you guys do-Holy shit!" she exclaimed when she saw what I had found. Composing herself slightly, she stammered out, "W-we don't have enough ammo to take out this horde."

Getting up, stilling looking at my prize, I said quietly, "You think I should use this?"

Steve, an excited gleam in his eye, all but shouted, "Hell Yeah!" Even Sarah seemed to have cheered up for the moment, smiling and nodding at me. Walking out the door, I got into position for the quickly approaching horde.

**Third-Person POV**

The hunter got himself into position for yet another attack on the girl. By this point, he was so upset at the previous attempts and focused on the woman that he didn't notice the strange new weapon Phil had found in the grocery store. A massive horde, bigger than the other ones they had encountered that day, was quickly heading towards the group of survivors.

_Now's my chance,_ the hunter thought, pouncing off of the rooftop he was perched on an instant after Phil fired the rocket launcher he had discovered.

A half second later, the rocket collided with an infected, exploding and blowing up every other infected in the area. Infected bodies flew all over the place, one colliding with the hunter in mid-leap! Falling on his back, he lands painfully on the ground, passing out almost immediately.

**Hunter POV**

The first thought that I had as I began to wake up was, _what happened?_

I groggily got up, looking around. I saw blown up limbs and half-burned bodies all over the place. Fearing for a moment that those humans may have blown themselves up, I hurriedly searched for their scents.

Wait…FEARING?

No. I wasn't WORRIED about them, I corrected myself. I was merely concerned that I may have lost a meal. After all, I couldn't eat their blown-up, burnt corpses.

A little unnerved by that thought about me fearing for them, and MORE than a little unnerved by how harshly I harassed my own thoughts, I sniffed out their scent, a good deal away from the area. After several minutes of running as quickly as I could (which is VERY fast), I finally came across their location: in one of those safe houses they liked to hide out in.

Collapsing on the ground, I realized that, not only were my attempts throughout the day in vain, but I would have to wait another day for them to come out. I shrieked as loud as I possibly could, not caring if the humans could hear me.

_DAMN IT!_

**Sarah's POV**

We all heard a hunter's shriek in the distance, making all of us shiver. I silently prayed for whatever had angered a hunter so much.

Phil and Steve were still chatting away about today's fun with that rocket launcher. I had to admit, I was entertained by what had happened, too. I just wished there was more than one rocket that was found with the launcher. After all, it would have been great if we could have saved a shot for something really dangerous, like a witch or a tank. Still, it took out the entire horde that was coming after them, so I can't complain.

Smiling at the two, I got ready to go to sleep. I realized this was the first time since Alex died that I've actually been happy, even if that happiness was fleeting.

I slept dreamlessly (a blessing at this point) for a few hours before I woke up. Ever since the infection hit, I haven't been able to sleep for more than three or four hours. Major insomnia. A zombie apocalypse will do that to ya, I guess.

Right as I was starting to get back to sleep, however, I heard a noise. There was some sort of scraping sound, and I looked up as I realized it was coming from the entrance to the safe house. Looking over, I saw a clawed hand reaching through the tiny window, slowly picking up the bar that sealed off the door.

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

The arm quickly dropped the bar back into place and was pulled back through the window.

Phil and Steve jerked awake quickly when they heard my screaming. Phil went over to get his shotgun, while Steve ran over to me.

"What's wrong? What happened?" he asked me.

"S-someone was reaching for the bar on the d-door. Someone with c-claws!"

"Claws? You mean like an infected?" surprised by my response.

Phil looked over at me, a quizzical look on his face. "Infected don't know how to open doors. Are you sure you saw that?"

"Yes!" I practically shouted. "I was sleeping right here when I woke up and saw it happen!"

Steve gave me a look I couldn't quite read. "You were sleeping before it happened?"

"I just said that! Yes, I was asleep when…" then I realized what Steve was thinking. Apparently Phil was thinking the same thing as Steve. "Are you sure you didn't just have a bad dream?"

"Yes I'm sure!"

Steve pointed to the door. "But Sarah, the bar's still on the door and everything."

"It stopped when I started screaming," I started to defend myself, but at that point even I was starting to have some doubts. Infected don't open doors, and if they knew how to, they wouldn't stop just because I had started screaming. Remembering the shadow I had thought I had seen last night, I was starting to wonder if my lack of sleep was starting to affect me. Was that real? The others had brushed it off as me imagining it, and now I was starting to think they had been right. Was I going crazy or something? I didn't think I was, but then again, if I was crazy, I probably wouldn't know I was.

By now the other two were starting to give me a look that said, 'Are you crazy?' and I decided if I kept trying to convince them that would only confirm their fears.

Smiling as best as I could, considering my heart was still racing like a jackrabbit, I quietly said, "You know what? You're right. It must have been a bad dream. Sorry I got you guys worked up over nothing."

That seemed to alleviate their attention, though Phil still didn't seem completely convinced. "Let's just go back to sleep," he finally grunted, walking back to his room in the safe house. Steve gave me a quick look before saying good night and walking away.

I stayed up the rest of the night. Just because I wasn't sure if I had imagined that hand at the door, doesn't mean I was certain it WAS just my imagination.

XXX

The next morning, we headed out for the next safe house, Phil with his trusty shotgun, Steve taking a semiautomatic rifle, and me with dual pistols. I also took a pipe bomb I found in the safe house with me, in case I needed something a little more heavy-duty.

The day was fairly uneventful. We ran into a decent amount of infected, even a few special infected, but we took them out with few or no injuries. Unfortunately the safe house we were in last night was a little low on ammo, so we were starting to run low on ammo. To be more exact, I was the only one left with ammo. I also still had my pipe bomb, since we hadn't run into anything that challenging.

From what Phil could tell, the safe house was just two blocks away when the ground started to shake. _Oh God, not now_, I thought, and then I heard a roar and knew a tank was coming right at us.

"TANK!" Phil shouted. "Come on! We gotta get to the safe house for some ammo! We won't stand a chance without reloading!"

In a moment of absolute clarity, I turned to the two and said, "The tank'll just smash into the safe house and kill us if we all go. I'll hold if off while you guys get some ammo and come back."

Steve looked like I had grown a second head or something. I shouted, "No time for arguments! GO!" Phil must have realized what I did, because he pulled Steve away, shouting back to me, "Don't you die on us!"

I smirked, turning to the quickly approaching tank. _'Don't die,'_ I thought. _Yeah. Easier said than done._

I shot at the tank as furiously as I could with my dual pistols. I hit it over and over, but the tank didn't even seem fazed at the bullets sinking into him. The tank chased after me, but I was faster. Keeping my distance, I shot at the tank on the run, hoping the others would come back soon but knowing it was unlikely they were even at the safe house yet.

The tank, now getting seriously ticked off at me, stopped chasing me long enough to pick up a massive slab of concrete and hurled it straight at me. I managed to duck, and it flew right over where my head was only a moment before.

Unfortunately, it hit a wall that was only about twenty feet away. Chunks of concrete broke off and bounced in all directions. A small chunk hit me in the head at the same time a larger piece slammed into my back. I collapsed to the ground, winded, head swimming. My pistols flew out of my hands. But the tank just kept moving towards me. I vaguely remembered my pipe bomb, but I knew it wouldn't work unless the tank sat still for a few seconds and let it blow up on him. Tanks are dumb, but nothing would stop an enraged tank from charging her, much less stopping to stare at a beeping plastic stick. Besides, I suddenly felt so lightheaded I wasn't even sure I could throw the stupid pipe bomb. I sighed, closing my eyes, waiting for the intense pain of being throttled by the tank, thinking of one phrase over and over again…

_Damn it, damn it, damn it…_

**Cliffhanger! Sorry folks, but you're gonna have to wait a little before you find out if Sarah gets crushed. Sorry if my little bit of comedic relief in the beginning of the chapter wasn't very funny. I wasn't even going to have those scenes originally, but after reading Yukimare's comments, I knew I just HAD to add his idea in, along with a couple ideas of my own. And sorry for all the cussing; I'm not a big fan of it myself, but I thought it gave the story more emphasis. Hope to add the next chapter in a couple days, but now I REALLY need to get ready for classes, so please don't get too upset if it takes a little bit longer than expected. Bye for now! (:**


	6. Chapter 6: First Encounter

**Sigh…Last chapter was not my best piece of work…which is really saying something, considering this story is pretty much my FIRST piece of work. Oh well…anywho, this chapter is the group finally meet the mysterious hunter for the first time. OR IS IT? Hehe (: I'm weird.**

**I don't own L4D (I wish I did, though).**

**Chapter 6**

**First Encounter**

**Hunter's POV**

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There she was: the female I had been chasing the last couple of days, singlehandedly taking on a giant brother, what the humans call (before they get pulverized) a tank. A TANK!

Was she insane? No one takes on a tank alone, not even other infected! Yet she stood her ground calmly, the other two in her group running off to another one of those 'safe houses' that they like to hide out in.

Were they abandoning her? I'm not sure why, but the thought made me shiver. They seemed so close, too…

Turning my attention back to the battle, I couldn't help but admire her courage. She was facing a tank, and her fear was practically radiating all throughout the street, but she faced it with an impressive determination.

She was even doing a rather good job facing the giant, considering her only weapons appeared to be the tiny guns that barely affect those beasts. I also spotted a small plastic stick on her belt and remembered what that thing is capable of from past experience. But I doubted the woman would be able to hold the tank at bay long enough for it to be useful.

I tensed when it threw a massive slab of concrete at the female. She dodged it, but then some of the pieces hit her from behind when it made contact with a wall and shattered into a million pieces.

The concrete rocks docked her down, and the tank was getting closer to her. Scowling, I wasn't sure what to do. She was about to get flattened by that monstrosity. If that happened, there wouldn't be enough of her left to eat…

But it would be crazy for me to try to get her away from the tank. Suicide, really. I had decided it would be better to just let her get killed, but then…something happened. Something didn't feel right, but I couldn't figure out what. Then the woman began looking around the area, possibly looking for help that. That was futile; there was no one in sight that would be able to help her.

_Except you,_ a tiny voice in my head whispered. No, I couldn't help. I would die as soon as that thing dealt its first strike. Then my thoughts traveled back to that exploding rod of hers…

_It's suicide!_ The rational part of my brain said. But then the woman's eyes, still looking for any sign of rescue, scanned by my location. Her eyes: so pleading…

Before my mind could even begin to start cursing, my body impulsively leaped to the woman. She hardly seemed to notice me pick her up, toss her on my back, and leap away, tank's fist missing by inches, and landing further down the street.

"Wha..?" was all she managed to say before I grabbed her beepy-explody thing and leapt back toward the tank.

I landed right in front of him and clawed at his right arm. The tank roared and swung at me with his left arm. I jumped back, narrowly avoiding having all of my bones crushed. He began charging towards me. Okay, now I got his attention away from the girl. Unfortunately, now he was focused on me…

**Sarah's POV**

I looked around, hoping Steve and Phil would miraculously come back and rescue me, but nothing was here, except for the giant mass of flesh and muscle lumbering towards me. Vision momentarily fading, I almost didn't notice the person that appeared next to me, almost out of nowhere.

The man (I assumed he was a man) hoisted me up on his back, and my head swum as I felt like I was flying through the air. When my vision cleared up, I was being set back down, much further down the road than I was just a moment ago.

"Wha..?" I managed to mumble out as the man, who I just noticed was wearing a hoodie, grabbed my pipe bomb. He then seemed to fly towards the tank, angering it and making it chase him.

Somewhere in my muddled mind I knew something was off. Thought beginning to process, I thought.' _Hoodie, flying through the air, and now he's…clawing the tank?'_ And then it hit me: hunter.

I watched in shock as the hunter took on the colossal tank. The hunter kept leaping in, landing near or on the tank, swiped, then leapt away before the tank got him. It was working, but the clawing barely seemed to affect the tank. The hunter leapt in, but this time he paused a moment. My heart skipped a beat as the tank took the opportunity to swing at the hunter.

Yes, my heart skipped a beat. After all, the hunter DID just save me from a brutal and painful demise. Although I wasn't sure what this hunter had in mind, I knew the tank would kill me if the hunter was beaten, whereas with the hunter, it seemed I at least had a chance of being saved.

My heart resumed its furious beating, however, when the hunter slid under the tank, clawing at its more vulnerable stomach. The tank didn't have enough time to react, and the hunter tore a huge gouge out of the tank's belly before sliding out behind the tank, allowing him to further claw at the tank's back. Roaring in pain, the tank turned and threw its fist at the hunter. The hunter leapt back, but this time wasn't quick enough to get out of the way of the tank's wrath. His fist collided with the hunter's torso and sent him flying back down the street.

I gasped. It was over. There was no way anything could survive such a hit. Then the tank turned back towards me, roaring…

**Hunter's POV**

Grunting, I got up from the tank's punch, expecting intense pain all over my body. I was more than a little surprised that I didn't feel like I was dying. I was sore, and from the sharp pain in my chest I could tell I had a few cracked ribs, but otherwise I seemed fine. Thinking, I figured me leaping back must have caused his fist to not collide with my body with as much force, making the impact not as bad. Thanking physics for saving my life, I gingerly got up. The tank had turned his attention back to the woman, her eyes wide in terror. Preparing myself for my attack, I leapt at the tank while its back was turned, pulling out and activating the explosive in mid-leap. I landed on his shoulders, surprising the monster. Taking the opportunity, I jammed the bomb into its jawless mouth, forcing him to swallow it. I leapt away, the tank now chasing me again. I heard the beeping from the bomb getting faster and faster…

_**BLAM!**_

The device exploded. I turned, trying to look through the dust-cloud that enshrouded the tank…

**Sarah's POV**

I was about to give up hope, but then the hunter, who I thought was dead just a moment ago, leapt through the air, landing on the tank's back. I saw the hunter jam my stolen pipe bomb down the tank's throat, and immediately I thought, _'Run! Run away!' _Getting up, I backed away from the tank. The tank turned to chase down the hunter, then…

_**BLAM!**_

Looking through the cloud of dust and debris, I saw the outline of the tank, still standing, and my first thought was, '_What if it didn't work?'_ My fears were quickly put to rest however, when the tank fell backwards, revealing a big gaping hole where its head used to be. It died before it even hit the ground.

I let out a breath I wasn't even aware I was holding. The tank was dead. Then my attention was turned to the figure that was becoming visible through the cloud.

Oh, yeah. There's still the issue with the hunter. How could I have already forgotten about that?

Dust cleared, I saw the hunter look at his 'handiwork', and I swear he looked like he was proud of his achievement. I mean, I would have been proud of it if it was me, but I didn't know an infected could feel anything other than anger and hunger.

Then the hunter looked at me. At least, I think he was. With that hood of his on I couldn't actually SEE him looking at me. But I knew he was.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, seconds that felt like an eternity. Then I heard a gunshot, and I saw the hunter stumble, his shoulder bleeding from a bullet wound.

"Got him!" I heard Steve shout from down the street, a rifle in aimed at the hunter. Phil was close behind him.

Before I even thought to realize what I was doing, I ran between the hunter and Steve. "Don't kill him!" I shouted.

"What are you doing?" Steve shouted, him and Phil staring at me like I had grown a second head.

"Don't kill him!" I repeated with more certainty, even though every rational thought in my head told me this was a crazy idea.

The hunter behind me screeched. _'Oh, God. He's gonna kill me,' _I thought when I heard it. But instead off ripping out my throat, it leapt away, quickly disappearing despite the injury to his shoulder.

Phil and Steve, who had both been ready to shoot, lowered their guns, exhaling.

"What the hell were you thinking!" Steve shouted.

"You'd better have a good explanation for your actions," Phil grumbled.

I stared at my feet, feeling embarrassed by my outburst. "He-he…saved my life…" I mumbled.

Steve and Phil were confused. "What?" Stave asked.

Just then, the sound of more infected approaching caught our attention. "This isn't the place to sit and talk about it. Let's get in the safe house. Then I can talk to you guys about it."

"Okay," Steve said, turning back towards the safe house. Phil gave me a look: not an upset look, but clearly a concerned look. Then he followed Steve back.

'_Great. Now they all think you're going crazy,'_ I thought bitterly. I was a little worried that they might be right…

**Hunter's POV**

_Damn!_ I thought, trying to nurse my wounds. I looked at the bullet hole in my shoulder. It went clean through. _Well, at least I didn't have to dig it out._ I thought angrily. I licked it until the bleeding slowed down to a trickle.

There wasn't much I could do about my cracked ribs, other than taking it easy for the next couple of days.

The time I spent making sure none of my injuries were too serious got me thinking about what had just happened. _What HAD happened?_

For reasons beyond my understanding, I had decided to save my prey from a tank, putting my own life at risk in the process. Why would I do something so insane? Yes, I wanted to attack that woman myself, but not at the expense of being mauled by a rampaging tank.

And what happened after I killed it? When I saw that woman looking at me, I just froze up. I didn't know what to do at that point. It took me a while to decide I was going to attack the woman. Unfortunately the other two had returned without me noticing and I was shot at before I could even move a muscle.

I thought I was going to die there, but the woman jumped between us, preventing them from finishing me off. I hadn't expected her to do that. While I did save her life, I hadn't actually thought she would be grateful…

I sighed. Why was I thinking about it so much? I'm glad I can think more than my idiotic brothers and sisters, but sometimes it was just a burden…

Running off, I quickly found the humans' scents and found the safe house they were in. It was an actual house, but the red steel door still indicated that it was a safe haven for humans. Or so they thought…

That brought back the memories of the night before, when I had tried to open the door. I quickly found the problem other infected didn't seem to understand: the steel bar on the inside of the door. That prevented most infected (a tank could probably tear it open) from clawing it down. Of course, since most infected weren't smart enough to even OPEN doors, the concept of a barred-off door was well beyond the average infected. Fortunately, I'm no average infected.

I had made sure the humans were asleep. I then slipped my arm through the tiny gaps in the barred window. Cursing my short stature (Why was I born so damn short?), I just barely managed to reach the steel bar on the other side. I lifted it up as quietly as I could, the bar still made tiny scraping sounds as it left its place on the door.

Of course, the woman woke up.

She shrieked, the loudness and the shrillness making me practically jump out of my skin. I dropped the bar, and it fell back in place. I ran off into the shadows, praying they didn't go out to investigate.

They hadn't, but it still annoyed me that, whenever I was trying to get to them, something always seemed to get in the way…

I vowed to myself that I would get them, one way or another. Especially that woman who always seems to get away. Too tired and injured to try another break-in, I decided I would sit out and sleep tonight. Hopefully, I'll feel good enough to hunt them in the morning…

**I feel a little more confident about this chapter than I do about last chapter, but it still might not be much better. I did get to use physics, though (gotta love the properties of impulse), so that's a plus for me. Please send lots of reviews! They keep my thirst for blood at bay…bye for now (:**


	7. Chapter 7: Turmoil

**Hey guys. I'm SO sorry I haven't updated in a while! My first week of college started Monday. Between that and my addiction to reading OTHER people's fanfics and you get one major heap of procrastination. I hope to update at least once a week, but I apologize in advance if I can't manage that.**

**I own Sarah, Phil, Steve, the mystery hunter, and any other OCs I may make, as well as the storyline for this fanfic.**

**Valve owns…basically every else, which is a lot, considering this is a L4D fanfic…**

**Chapter 7**

**Turmoil**

**Steve's POV**

"I told you already; that hunter saved me from the tank!"

I still couldn't believe what Sarah was telling me. We made it to the safe room a few minutes ago. After searching through for food and ammo, we all gathered in what could be considered the bedroom (a mattress and a few sleeping bags in the corner of the room). Phil and I decided we wanted to hear about what happened to Sarah back when we ran off to get more ammo.

But what she was saying just didn't make any sense…

"He carried me away from the tank before it pounded into dust, then it fought off the tank," Sarah continued to say.

Clearly I had a skeptical look on my face, because Sarah then said, "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but that's what happened…"

Phil looked at her, concern on his face. "Sarah, you KNOW a hunter wouldn't do something like that. They're mindless animals that only think about killing." He pauses for a moment, probably debating what he should say next. "You of all people should know that…"

I saw a pang of sadness in her eyes; she was clearly thinking about what happened to Alex. She says, barely above a whisper, "I know that, but this hunter-it wasn't mindless…"

Sarah looks up at us. "I think that hunter's been following us for a while now."

Confused by what she said, I replied, "What? What do you mean?" Phil shakes his head. "If that hunter was following us, don't you think it would've attacked us by now? At the very least, we would have noticed him by now."

Sarah seems to have thought of something. "But that's just it: I HAVE noticed him!"

Too surprised to say anything, she continues. "Remember last night when I had that nightmare? I KNOW I wasn't dreaming. I SAW him trying to open the safe room door! And the night before, I woke up in the middle of the night, and I thought I heard something outside, but when I looked, I couldn't see anything. I didn't tell you guys because I didn't think it was important then, but now I get it; that hunter has been following us for days!"

Silence hits the group. I look over at Phil, and I can tell he's thinking the same thing I am.

I finally speak up. "Sarah…I think you might…well-you know…"

Phil interrupts. "We think everything that's happened these last few weeks are starting to get to you."

Sarah looks stunned. "You guys think I'm crazy."

No, we don't think that," I quickly reply. "We just think you've had a lot happen to you, and you really haven't had any time to process it. I think you just need some time to rest and think about everything."

"Because I'm going crazy." At this point I can tell Sarah's starting to get angry. Dang it! I didn't want to upset her.

She gets up, grabbing a sleeping bag from the pile. She drags it to the other side of the safe room. "I'm going to bed!" she all but shouts at us.

Phil pipes up, "You haven't had dinner yet." "Not hungry," Sarah replies before she gets in her sleeping bag.

I sigh, grabbing a can of spam from the cupboards to eat before I go to sleep. Something tells me Sarah can hold a grudge…

**Sarah's POV**

I can't believe those guys! They actually think I'm insane!

Even though I went into the sleeping bag hours ago, I still haven't fallen asleep. I'm too upset to sleep. Phil and Steve, the only two people I have left in this world, think I'm slowly going crazy just because I think there's a smart hunter following us…

And trying to open doors…something no infected to date has been seen doing…

And hiding from women who look out the window because they think they heard something…

I roll over in my sleeping bag, looking over at the other two across the room. They're sound asleep (it still amazes me how easily they can fall asleep considering what's happening in the world), and I give a long sigh.

Of course they think I'm crazy. What I'm trying to convince them is so insane, even I'm not sure I believe it. But I KNOW what happened with the tank is real. That hunter saved me from it…but why?

**Hunter's POV**

_Why? Why did I save her?_ I've had a restless night of sleeping. The pain in my shoulder doesn't help, but I know it's mostly because I can't stop thinking about what happened earlier. I can't believe I fought off a tank to save a HUMAN!

…Something about those eyes…

When the tank was attacking her and she looked in my direction, I acted without thinking. And when I saw her eyes through the dust, I froze up. Why did those eyes make me act so strange?

And her scent. Her normal scent doesn't really do much, but when she has time to sit and relax, she starts making that sad-scent. For some reason, her sad-scent annoys me. I just can't understand why that woman gets under my skin so much…

Speak of the devil…

I can smell her sad-scent again, and a few seconds later I hear her crying, so quietly the humans probably can't hear it. I wish one of the males would hear it; at least then they can calm her down, and I won't have to deal with her aggravating ways.

After a few minutes of it, I finally snap. I growl, not loud enough to wake the ones asleep, but loud enough for her to hear. I'm rewarded with a small gasp, then silence. The sad-scent is immediately replaced with her fear-smell. Her fear-smell isn't as strong as I had expected it to be, which surprises me. I was wondering why she wasn't that nervous when I heard her stand up and walk towards the door.

I'm a comfortable distance away, and in the dark the woman will have no chance of seeing me, but I can see her. She's standing right on the other side of the safe room door, looking out between the bars of the window.

I'm tempted to leap out to the door and grab at her through the bars; I could probably grab her and kill her before she could even scream. Grinning, I prepare to jump, but then her eyes scan the area I'm hiding in. Again, I freeze, cursing my stupidity for letting her mess with me so much. Her gaze roaming around, I prepare myself once again to leap.

But before I can jump, the woman begins speaking. Curiosity piqued, I try to listen.

**(NOTE: the hunter cannot understand most human words. The following is not a long string of curse words, but instead words that the hunter does not understand.)**

"#$%$ #$%? )#*$ #*$## ."

Sigh…why did I even bother listening? Of course I can't understand her. While I'm on the subject: why do I even CARE what the human is saying?

"$%*&# %^&% $%#...thanks."

Wait, WHAT! What did she say? Thanks? For what? And who is she talking to? Herself? That didn't make sense: Why would she be thanking herself? The woman walks away from the door after that. A few minutes later I can hear her slow, quiet breathing and I know she's asleep.

Drowsiness finally starting to kick in, I prepare for sleep as well. As I drift off, I can't help but wonder who that woman was talking to…

xxx

The next morning, I wake up to the sound of the humans leaving. Silently cursing the sun (of course I fell asleep facing the direction it rises from), I lower my hood further down my face so as not to get another painful blast of light.

This time while I was following the group, I wondered where the humans were going. Every time I ran into humans, they always were heading somewhere, going from safe room to safe room to get to their destination, but I've never really thought about where they were heading…

Oh, well. I probably won't ever find that out, and it's unlikely a human will ever tell me. Keeping to the shadows and staying out of sight, I follow the humans across the quiet city.

I notice the woman is keeping her distance even more than usual today. I wonder why? In any case, it'll only make taking her out that much easier.

**Sarah's POV**

I haven't spoken to the others much since yesterday. I know they're only trying to look out for me, but it still hurts that they don't trust my sanity.

Although after last night…well, maybe I have gone a little unhinged…

I was crying (Again. I seem to be doing that a lot lately…) when I heard the low growling coming from outside. It was a hunter's growl.

Hearing that sound made me gasp, but then I remembered the reason I was crying in the first place- a strange hunter that's following us (or me going crazy, but at this moment my mind was pretty set on the hunter idea). Getting up, I walked towards the safe room door and looked outside. I couldn't see anything out there, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching me. After looking around for a minute, I started thinking about how that hunter rescued me from the tank. Why did he save me? I have no idea, but the fact remains that he did, and I was…grateful? Yes, I was grateful for the killing machine that had saved me.

Before I even thought about it, I started talking, barely above a whisper so as not to wake the others.

"Are you out there?" I asked the darkness. I was disappointed when I didn't get a reply, even though I hadn't really expected one.

"I can't stop thinking about how you stopped that tank from killing me…" I know it's crazy, me talking to a hunter that probably isn't there (and if he is, I doubt he really cares what I'm saying), but I can't stop myself. I need to get this off my chest.

"I just wanted to say…thanks." Feeling a weight being lifted off my shoulders, I turned away from the door. I got back into my sleeping bag, not entirely sure why that had made me feel better, but too tired to really care. I fell asleep after just a few moments…

Looking back at this, I can't help but think maybe something IS wrong with me…

Now we're walking down the road, only a day's walk from our destination…Mercy Hospital…

**Hunter's POV**

The day went fairly well for the humans. A couple of small hordes, a smoking brother, and a charging brother were all they came across on their journey. I almost panicked when they nearly upset a crying sister. If she went after them, there wouldn't be much left to feast on…

Fortunately, they noticed her before it was too late and steered clear of her.

I was just about to give up hope on a good distraction when a fairly large horde ran out after the humans. Just as they were preparing for the horde, a smoker came out of an alley and wrapped their tongue around the oldest one in the group. The younger man saw this and ran after the long-tongue. That left the woman all alone…

Smiling, I prepared for my pounce. I leapt…and landed on the female! Finally! Almost forgetting the plan in my joy, I quickly picked her up, and leapt onto a rooftop of a building a short distance away.

Tossing her off, I pin her down again. Finally I can rip her to shreds!

_Do I really want to kill her?_

Where did that thought come from? Of course I want to kill her!

…Don't I?

I look up at her face. I see her eyes: those damn eyes that always make me freeze up with indecision. I can see the fear in them, but I also see recognition in them. So she remembers me from yesterday…

And why am I thinking about all this when I should be tearing into her? What is wrong with me?

I lift up my hand to claw into her soft, vulnerable stomach, when I hear her speak.

"Please #&$ &#& (*."

Even though I only understood 'please,' I could still assume what she was pleading for: mercy…

The poor fool thinks begging will save her? Ha! I grin what I know must be a terrifying, evil grin as I lift my hand again. The woman closes her eyes, knowing what's going to happen next.

**And…CLIFFHANGER! Really epic cliffhanger! Sorry, I couldn't resist (I'm so terrible XD ).Hopefully I can update again pretty soon, but like I said, I've been pretty busy with classes and junk. Reviews are always welcome, and if anyone has ideas, feel free to let me know. I'll try to fit it in, if I can. Bye for now! (:**


	8. Chapter 8: I'm taking a break SORRY!

**It's finally happened: I've lost interest in this story…I just can't write anymore of this story right now. I PROMISE I won't give up on this story, but I think I have to go on a brief hiatus from this story. I wrote this (it's really more of a half-chapter), so hopefully this will keep you guys occupied until I get back to this. I'M REALLY SORRY ABOUT THIS, GUYS! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!**

**Valve (and a bunch of other people that don't include me) own the rights to Left 4 Dead, yada yada yada.**

**Chapter 8**

**Hesitation and Bright Blue Eyes**

**Sarah's POV**

Things were going pretty well. After heading out, we quickly took out all of the Commons around. There weren't really any major hordes attacking us; there were a few larger groups, but I wouldn't really call them "hordes." We ran into a few Specials, but none of them really got a chance to actually hurt us. We almost ran into a witch, but we managed to slip away without making her go ballistic on us. All in all, everything was going well.

…but none of that could cheer me up…

Phil and Steve, the only two people I have in this world, think I'm as crazy as the Infected we're shooting at…

We've barely spoken since last night, other than to warn each other about any impending threats.

I sigh, hitting an infected straight between the eyes before reloading my pistol. I lost the other pistol sometime during the encounter with the tank yesterday, and the safe room we were hiding in didn't have any guns in it.

_At least there was plenty of ammo_, I thought to myself, grabbing another clip from the small pack I keep on my hip.

As bad as the worried glances of my partners were, that wasn't the other thing I was sulking about. I KNOW that hunter's out there, watching us. I can practically FEEL his gaze burning into the back of my head. I can't stop thinking about him. Why did he help me? Why is he following us? And how is he so smart? He's clearly smarter than the other infected, even smarter than the other Specials…

I was so lost in thought, I hardly noticed the others were so far ahead of me until the sounds of a horde coming caught my attention. They were approaching fast, and right when I was about to ready my pistol and run up next to the guys, a smoker tongue snaked out of an alley and wrapped around Phil. Steve reacted faster than me and ran after him. I figured Steve would be able to handle the smoker, so I prepared to fight off the horde until the others could get their bearings.

I was just starting to pick them off when I felt something slam into me. HARD. Dazed, I tried to fire my gun, only to realize it had slipped out of my grasp.

_Man, I just cannot keep a hold of those things._

Before I managed to escape that daze, I felt someone pick me up, followed by a moment of weightlessness. A weightlessness that felt awfully familiar…

_Yesterday when the hunter carried my away. It's that weightlessness. Crap._

The feeling of flying ended, and I was all but thrown to the ground, which I quickly realize is actually the roof of some apartment.

_Why would a hunter carry me away onto a rooftop?_

Of course…because no one can help me from up here…

The hunter pounced on me again. I look up to see him and quickly recognize him as the hunter from yesterday. At least I THINK he's the same one…I didn't actually get a good look of the hunter from yesterday, but I recognize the same grey hoodie. With him so close I can make out the swirls of black on the front actually form the shape of a pack of wolves. The hunter is also wearing the same baggy dark-blue (almost black) jeans. OF course, this hunter has its signature duct tape wraps on various parts of his hoodie and jeans. His face, although so close to mine, is still mostly concealed under that deep hood. All I can see is his smile, sharp, bloody teeth giving him a very feral look.

_And why am I so concerned with how he looks when I'm about to die?_

Yes, I'm going to die. I know this. I know there's no way I, Sarah Palmer, can take on an angry hunter, while unarmed and pinned to the ground.

Suddenly I'm filled with a sudden calm. I've accepted my fate, and I only have one request before the hunter begins shredding me.

"Please. Just make it quick."

That only seems to get the hunter more excited. The grin on his face gets ever wider, even fiercer, more wild than anything I've ever seen. Normally I would be shrieking if I saw that expression, but that calm acceptance wouldn't allow for much more than to close my eyes, a single tear leaking from my eyes.

_...this is it…_

...

...

...

I waited for what felt like an eternity, although I'm sure it was only a few seconds. Yet nothing happened…

Then I felt the hunter shift, and he got off of me!

I opened my eyes slowing, trying to see what was going on. I saw the hunter beginning to back up. The smile on his face was gone, replaced with a grimace. He was cradling his forehead in his hands. He looked like he was in…pain? Kind of like he had the worst ice cream headache you could possibly imagine.

I started to sit up, but he let out a warning growl, and I froze. Clearly, the hunter didn't want to lose his catch, but something was causing him a ton of pain.

We stayed that way for a minute or two: me sitting up on the roof, him fighting off some sort of migraine while trying to keep an eye on me. I'm sure, even in his pained state, he could catch me if I ran, so I just sat there, wondering what on earth was going on. I could hear gunshots from the street below; Apparently, the others are okay.

It seemed like the longer we stayed like that, the more pain the hunter experienced. He began clawing at his hood where the top of his forehead was, as if he was trying to claw away the pain. Something about that made me…well…concerned, I guess. I know, how could I be concerned about him? But he hadn't killed me yet, and he DID save my life already…

Before I can stop myself, I ask," Are you okay?"

The hunter growls at me again. Even though I can't see his eyes, I can tell he's glaring at me. He pauses, though, and his grimace fades. I guess the pain's gone. Guess I'm gonna die now.

But he doesn't attack me. He just stares, tilting his head ever so slightly. The expression makes me think of a dog; it's so ridiculous that I can't help but snicker a little.

That got him angry again. I tensed, expecting intense pain, but instead the hunter turns away from me…

…and leaps away to another building…

_He…let me go..?_

**I think I'm going to start writing some other story ideas cluttering up my head. Maybe that will help. My next story is probably gonna be about an OC and (surprise) a hunter. NO ROMANCE! (at least not with these two). It's gonna be a little bit lighter toned than this one, but it's not going to be an outright comedy.**

**This is Left 4 Zed, signing off…**


	9. Chapter 9 : I accidently lied I'm BACK!

**Oh my God! I think I got it! Okay, so I had key points of the story thought out, but I was struggling to actually connect the points. After giving it a ton of thought, I started changing up the ideas a little, and BAM! Inspiration! I think I got it now. Of course I finally come up with something AFTER I say this story's gonna be on hiatus. Groan…**

**I'm not going to be able to add chapters as quickly. I now have ANOTHER story to work on, as well as papers for classes I really shouldn't be procrastinating on. I WILL TRY to update as frequently as possible; just don't be upset if I take a few weeks to get something out.**

**I don't own Left 4 Dead. If I did, (insert pun here). (:**

**What Lurks in Darkness**

**Chapter 9: Reflections in the Mirror**

**Hunter's POV**

…

_What's wrong with me..?_

Sitting inside of an old abandoned building, I keep thinking about what happened.

_What happened?_

I can't figure that out. Every time I try to, I start getting another migraine. The one I got when I was about to claw that woman was so bad, I couldn't stand it. I had to run away. It still hurts a little, but not nearly as bad as at that moment.

I put my clawed hands in the pockets of my blue jeans, and I feel the familiar objects that were in there after I turned. I can remember what they are, but I don't really remember what they DO. A wallet in my right pocket, and a cell phone in my left pocket. In the pocket in my hoodie I remembered there was a container that held a pair of glasses. I remember that some of the humans wore then over their eyes…to help them see? Yeah, that felt right. I guess my eyesight wasn't very good, even before the infection…

Another small twinge of pain went through my head. I hate that! It seems like every time I try to think of the past, I get a migraine…

Realizing I've gone off my train of thought, I returned back to the thoughts of that woman. The strange human who sent strange thoughts and feelings through me. Who makes my head hurt, like I'm trying to remember something. How COULD she give me a headache like that…

Somewhere in my head, I can feel gears turning. Something…I'm close to thinking of something-something important…

She…couldn't do that…unless…unless…unless? OUCH!

Another hot wave of pain went through my head. Forget it! I don't care! Whatever's going on, it's not worth another migraine.

The gears of my mind slowing down to a standstill, I can't help but sulk a little. I was so close to remembering…something…

Xxx

After a while, I decided to see if I could still find the group of humans. Inhaling deeply, I catch a good whiff of their scents. Deciding it would be better if I kept my distance for a little while, I decided to explore the building I was in. It had clothes lines up in racks all over the place. It must have been a clothing store.

I wandered around, not really looking for anything in particular. I stopped when I saw something move in my peripheral vision. Someone was right next to me, and I hadn't even noticed!

I turned abruptly to face my assailant, and at the exact same moment he turned to face me. It was another one of my kind! A hunter! I screeched angrily at it, but then I noticed something strange. The other hunter opened its mouth to screech at the exact same time, but I only heard one shout…and now the hunter looked confused. He probably looked as confused as I felt…

Feeling like a complete idiot, I realized I was looking in a mirror.

Groaning at my own stupidity, I looked back at the mirror. Now that I think about it, I haven't actually looked at myself ever since I turned. I have no idea what I look like.

What I see in the reflection almost scared me. I looked…almost human. I know hunters look the least infected compared to the other infected, but it shocked me to see just how human I looked. If you ignored the bloody claws and the pale, almost gray skin, I looked pretty normal. I opened my mouth and saw the large, pointed teeth in there. I even had fangs! It's strange how little I actually knew about my own body.

Looking back at my body, I saw that the dark gray hoodie I was wearing was torn and shredded in so many places, I'm surprised it doesn't fall right off my body. It looked like the hoodie had a picture of a skull on the front, but it was so filthy and torn, I wasn't certain. Turning around, I saw another skull on the back. Blood soaked almost every inch, making it hard to even tell the hoodie is gray.

My jeans were fairly normal, other than the poor condition they were in. I noted the pieces of duct tape on the sleeves of my hoodie and on my pant legs. I've noticed the tape on other hunters and always wondered why they were there...

I looked around for any of the disgusting blemishes that the other infected had, and was surprised when I couldn't find any on me. I've rarely been close enough to look at another hunter to notice if they have those blemishes, as well, but I'm almost certain I've seen a few of the boils on the arms and legs of the other hunters. Oh, well. I shouldn't complain. Guess I'm just lucky.

I then looked at my face. Well, I looked at my mouth, the hood covered the rest. I slowly pulled the hood down to get a look at my face. So THAT'S what my face looks like under my hood…

The only strange things about my face (other than the teeth in my mouth) were my eyes. They were incredibly bloodshot, so much so that the whites of my eyes looked black. My irises looked like they might have been blue, but a yellowish tint made it hard to tell.

I had shaggy dark-brown hair that looked almost black from all the grime. I noticed I had a little patch of hair on my chin, as well.

Pulling my hood back up, I decided to rest here for the night.

**Steve's POV**

We've been walking in silence for a while now. We haven't spoken about the incident at all, even though I really want to ask. Back when that last horde came, when I ran after Phil when the smoker got him. I managed to stop the smoker from making Phil his next meal, but the horde got to us shortly after that. That's when I realized Sarah wasn't with us. I was worried something may have gotten to her while I was helping Phil. Against my better judgment (and Phil's curses), I ran through the crowd of infected, looking for her.

Obviously, I got pretty beat up, but I didn't really notice any pain until the last infected was killed. I then noticed the fairly large gash on my arm, and I had to limp a little because I twisted my ankle in the struggle. I still ignored all of this because I still couldn't find Sarah anywhere.

Fearing for the worst, I shouted her name, hoping that wouldn't attract MORE infected to us. After a couple seconds she called back, and I let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding.

After that relief, however, I was left with confusion. She was on the roof of an apartment building! How did she get up there!

We met up with her in the apartment, and we've been traveling in silence since.

I kept glancing over at Sarah. She had a faraway look on her face. She was definitely troubled by something…

That made me look to her shoulders. Her jacket had claw marks on both of her shoulders, like something had…pinned her down…like a hunter.

I kept thinking about what Sarah was saying earlier about a hunter following us. Maybe I should have listened to her…

I look over when I see movement in my peripheral vision. I instantly calmed down when I realized the movement was my reflection in a window.

I paused to get a better look at myself. My green polo shirt was a mess, covered in gore and ripped up in places. My blue jeans were dirty and ripped up, as well. There were holes where my knees were from falling and scraping against the pavement. I took my glasses off; they were so dirty, I could see better with them off, anyway. I noticed I needed to shave; patches of hair were growing in. I hated how I never seemed to grow a full beard…

Sighing, I moved away from the window, catching up to the others. After a few minutes, we spotted the next safe house.

**Phil's POV**

Even after we went into the safe house (an actual house, for once; not the crappy little safe rooms we usually ended up in), we still didn't say anything. I'm sure we all had the same thought in our heads: the hunter. I saw the claw marks on her shoulders. That and the fact that she had somehow ended up on top of an apartment, added up to one conclusion; we ARE being followed by a hunter. A pretty damn smart one, from what Sarah's been describing…

After sitting in the living room for a while, Sarah got up and headed towards the bathroom. "I'm going to see if the shower still works," was all she said before closer the door behind her.

I sighed. We had to talk about our little hunter problem eventually, even if I didn't want to. I felt bad for not believing Sarah. I had pushed her concerns aside, thinking that the stress was finally getting to her. But she was right; there was a hunter after us. She was right all along…

Sighing again, I sat down on the couch in the living room. I couldn't push away my guilt. I hadn't believed her. I hadn't TRUSTED her. No wonder she was so distant from us now. She must feel horrible; first she loses her boyfriend, now the only people she has left in the world don't trust her.

I made a silent vow to always believe what she says, no matter how crazy it sounds.

Xxx

I began looking around the safe house. I could hear the shower on in the bathroom; I guess it DOES have running water. Maybe even HOT water.

As I was thinking about the possibility of having a warm shower, I spotted a mirror hanging in one of the hallways. I walked over to it. What I saw surprised me.

I looked ten years older, noticing the bags under my eyes. And my hair…I didn't have gray hair before the infection. I was only 41, for Christ's sake! Yet there it was, peppered in with my brown hair. It even grew in with my beard! I also was in desperate need of a shave; my beard was getting too bushy for my preference. I was starting to look like some sort of mountain man.

The red sweater I was wearing was pretty beat up, but then again, it was pretty beat up to start with. I really shouldn't have worn this to work, not when it was a birthday present from Anna.

Suddenly fighting back tears, I closed my eyes.

_Please be okay._

Pushing the thoughts out of my head, I moved back into the living room, waiting for Sarah to get out of the shower so we can talk.

**Sarah's POV**

OH MY GOD! IT EVEN HAS HOT WATER!

I relaxed in the shower, feeling better than I had felt since Al – in a long time. Suddenly feeling sad again, I hurried up with my shower, stepping out feeling refreshed, even if I was still upset. I looked over at my clothes; they were filthy! But there weren't any towels in here, and I hadn't thought to look for some new clothes. Sighing, I filled up the sink and placed my clothes in there. After several minutes of scrubbing, they were finally clean enough for me to wear, even if they were wet. Ringing out as much water as I could from my clothes, I put them on, and then looked at myself in the medicine cabinet/mirror hanging over the sink.

Fresh out of the shower, I looked a lot better. My face was surprisingly pimple-free, I couldn't help but be grateful for good genetics. My long black hair, not held back in a ponytail, hung freely around my face. It went almost down to my belly button. My clothes were torn up and had blood stains, but otherwise were okay. My gray jacket covered up my white tank top. MY black skinny jeans were pretty torn up, but it was better than walking around in my underwear.

I looked one last time into the mirror, gazing at my big, green eyes. I thought my eyes were my best quality. My brother Tyler always teased me, saying my eyes were so big, I looked like a chick from some Japanese anime.

That made me start thinking about Tyler, something I've been able to ignore for a while. Forcing back tears, I reminded myself that I wasn't even sure if he WAS dead. I hadn't found a body when I went to the school. Well, not HIS body; there were plenty of other bodies…

Pushing the thoughts out of my head, I opened the bathroom door and walked into the living room. Steve and Paul were waiting for me. I'm guessing to talk about what happened earlier…

**Okay. Sorry there wasn't any action, but I needed to get the character descriptions out, like, eight chapters ago. Now you guys kind of know what they look like! YAY! There's more character depth now, too. Now Phil and Steve don't feel so much like empty characters! (:**

**I thought the whole 'mirror' theme would be a good way to get all this description out. Just an idea I came up with on the spot. Sorry if you guys don't like it as much as I do (:**


End file.
